New Delhi, May 29: The victory of BJP-led coalition in Assam indicates that “obstructionist” politics does not succeed, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said today while debunking Congress’ charge that the Modi government has not achieved much.
Referring to the Congress’ loss in the assembly polls in Assam and other states, Rathore said it is because the youths are not appreciating its “obstructionist” role in Parliament and outside.
The youths feel that such an approach can take away the window of opportunity from India to turn into a developed nation, he told PTI.
“In crop insurance, we reduced the premium and removed the cap. But we did not work (according to opposition). For last 10 years, not a single weapon for the army was imported and whenever any attempt to import was made, Agusta scam happened there.
“We placed an order of around Rs 1 lakh crore out of which 60 to 70 per cent are going to be made in India. But we did nothing. And what did they do?” Rathore said hitting out at the Congress.
He claimed the change was visible in decision making, policy making and policy implementation in the last two years.
“These are happening for schemes for women, youths, infrastructure, marginalised sections, in governance, in overall economy. Through Direct Benefit Transfer, we saved crores of rupees of money by detecting fake accounts. This was public money. It’s (money) not simply going to the treasury.
It’s going to the right people,” the minister said.
Replying to a question about what is the takeaway from the results in Assam elections, Rathore said,”People of north east have also seen the obstructionism of Parliament and therefore they see hope in NDA and the leadership of the Prime Minister.”
Congress’ obstructionism in Parliament is because the party has run out of ideas, Rathore said, adding but not letting the government implement its ideas cannot be a policy.
The Union Minister said with young people constituting a very big chunk of population, the country has got a window of opportunity for growth and people say the 21st century could be the century of India.
“Youths feel that the country can lose this window of opportunity if obstructionism happens where laws are made (Parliament) and outside,” Rathore said.
Listing various schemes of the government, the minister said youths were being given opportunity to learn skills and
their educational level is going up, resulting in increased self-confidence.
“The entire world looks at India from a different angle, thinks India is a fit destination for investment,” he said, adding the centre’s policies and their implementation played a big role in the outcome of the recent assembly polls.
He said as far as the north east was concerned, “from day one of the government, the PM was clear that the policy has to change from Look East to Act East” and every minister has made regular trips to northeastern areas to connect with the people.
Replying to a question on whether Modi’s connect with youths, which was seen during the last Lok Sabha polls, still continues, the Minister said the presence of a large number of young people at Prime Minister’s rally in Saharanapur on Friday reflected the enduring connect.
“Surveys being carried out in different parts of the country say that the trust that was there in Modi government after the Lok Sabha polls still remains,” Rathore said.
He said in its first year in office, the government talked of long-term development goals, laid its foundation and, in the second year, the change has become visible.
“So far the governments in past only kept one way communication. It changed when we came. Before the 2016 Budget, every central minister spent 36 hours in two Lok Sabha constituencies. 2016 Budget was made after the feedback from there. Now, on the second anniversary of our government, which we are calling Vikas Parva, a team of 30 ministers is going to different cities in states.
